May These Blu-rays Be With You: Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set Reviewed
Buy Some Zines!
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The original trilogy, I am happy to say, also looks and sounds better than I’ve ever experienced it. There isn’t much to say about these films other than that – you either love them or hate them. Lucas’ minor and not-so-minor tweaks are there, but to be perfectly honest, they don’t ruin the overall experience for me. In a lot of instances, the changes have been included for so long at this point that I can no longer recall what the films look like without them.
The important thing is that they still make me feel like a kid, and seeing them on a 47-inch display with surround sound reminds me of when I saw them in the theaters for the first time during their 1997 re-release.
Where this collection both excels and fails together is on the special features discs. The last of the discs is a pure home run. It contains an hour and a half of Star Wars spoofs ranging from Weird Al’s The Saga Begins music video, to Internet sensations Troops and Chad Vader, all the way to last Super Bowl’s Darth Vader commercial.
Along with that ninety minutes of gold are some original and old documentaries from Episodes IV through VI. The deleted scenes on discs seven and eight are interesting (but a little boring). They’re highlighted by Spielberg’s animatic Obi-Wan/Grievous chase sequence, Luke building his infamous green lightsaber, an alternate opening sequence for Episode IV and an extra subplot from Empire involving Wampas. However, the deleted scenes are a quick watch with little lasting power.
Though the feature discs contain excellent commentary, and the deleted scenes, art sequences,
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interviews and documentaries on the bonus discs are meaty, there are some obvious missteps. The original film trailers, poster artwork and some features from the DVD releases are nowhere to be found.
One such exclusion is The Beginning: Making ‘Episode I’. This documentary is easily one of my favorite extras from the adolescence of DVD bonus features, and I was a little disappointed to see it didn’t make the cut.
This set is a vital part of any Star Wars collection. More important, it’s a must-have for any home theater enthusiast. The picture and audio mix is, as I said, a new benchmark and will put any setup through its paces. These are the films you’re looking for. Move along.
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I dug out my Kenner Star Wars collection during my viewing. Those toys are still awesome. Follow @Erock88 on Twitter you will!
